Numerous book covers have been devised to protect schoolbooks and other hard covered texts from moisture or grime. Many of these covers utilize Kraft paper wrappings or have been fabricated from more durable plastic materials. The application of such book covers require the time consuming steps of trimming the cover to size, fashioning and folding flaps, then inserting the front and back panels of a bound book into lateral envelopes formed by the flaps. Adhesive tape may also be required to secure the protective cover into position, which typically will mar a text when removed.
Some conventional book covers have been similarly available with transparent or printed plastic laminates that are coated with a layer of repositionable pressure sensitive adhesive. Although intended to removably adhere to the exposed surfaces of a book, such covers are difficult to remove after long-term usage. Alternatively, stretchable fabric book covers—which have attempted to remedy the problems of paper covers and self-adhesive plastic sleeves—do not provide a uniform waterproof barrier and accordingly fall short of protecting the vulnerable surfaces of a book.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents or industry literature that read on the claims of the instant application. However the following U.S. patents are considered related:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED5,158,325Landis et al27 Oct. 19925,470,109Grande28 Nov. 19956,257,622Peker10 Jul. 2003
U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,325 issued to Landis et al. discloses an adjustable book cover wherein a single piece of elastic sheet-like material is folded in half and sewn along selected peripheral edges. The resulting interior pockets are mutually defined by a sinusoidal stitched seam and are divided by an integral, non-removable, book marker. This arrangement causes the sewn periphery seams of the book cover to come into direct contact with the paperboard edges of an inserted text, thereby resulting in undue wear and cyclical stress along the lines of stitching. In addition, the invention offers no provisions for waterproofing the fabric cover to repel moisture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,109 issued to Grande discloses an adjustable book cover made from an elastic fabric material which is cut in a diamond shaped pattern. Six triangular shaped sections converge inward and are sewn along specified lines to form interior left and right hand pockets for the covers of books of various sizes. The sewn fabric construction provides a seamless adjustable book jacket along the external surfaces of hard covered books. The spine locking feature of this design, however, does not work effectively and the porous weave of the fabric fails to impede dampness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,622 issued to Peker discloses a cloth book cover, preferably of spandex. The cover has lateral pockets to receive the front and back paperboard panels of a book. The peripheral top and bottom edges of the cover are sewn by means of overlock stitching, the protruding portions of which tend to promote local wear on the seam construction. Further, the fabric, although preferably water resistant, is not impermeable to moisture, and requires either a natural or chemical treatment to achieve water resistance.